NAWA TECHNOLOGIES TO BEGIN MASS PRODUCTION OF ITS NEXT-GEN ULTRACAPACITORS BY END OF 2019

With development completed, and 9 M€ funding raised from historical and new investors, NAWA Technologies will begin the mass production phase of its next-generation ultracapacitor, the Ultra Fast Carbon Battery

Over the coming year, a first of its kind ultracapacitor cell production line will be installed at its Aix-en-Provence facility

At full production NAWA expects to achieve a capacity of over 100,000 cells per month

Cells will be shipped globally for various uses in a wide range of electrical systems including power tools, automated guided vehicles and sensor-based IoT markets first to receive the new tech

NAWA Technologies’ Ultra Fast Carbon Battery can offer five times more power than existing ultracapacitors and can be combined with lithium-ion batteries to provide a better balance between power and energy

Now in the process of finalizing further funding, NAWA Technologies is preparing to install a first of its kind production line at its Aix-en-Provence facility. By the end of this year, the first manufacturing equipment will be installed and operational, allowing NAWA to steadily build up to over 100,000 ultracapacitor cells a month when at full capacity. With today’s global market for ultracapacitors worth around €500m globally, but estimated to grow to €2-3bn in 2023, NAWA Technologies is ideally positioned to take advantage of increased demand.

The first global sector set to receive these revolutionary new cells will be manufacturing, where ultracapacitor cells are ideal for power tools used on production lines and for automated guided vehicles in factories, replacing lithium ion-based systems offering faster charging and longer lifetime. NAWA Technologies also sees the growing sensor-based IoT market as a being a huge beneficiary of maintenance-free, long lifetime batteries.

Pascal Boulanger, COO of NAWA Technologies, said: “Having completed our development phase with highly successful results, we are delighted to announce we will be operational with the first phase of our production by the end of this year. The installation of new manufacturing equipment at our facility begins in earnest and we will soon supply cells to a wide range of global sectors. Our technology really does have the potential to revolutionize energy storage and there are no limits to how far we can take it.”

Ulrik Grape, CEO of NAWA Technologies, said: “Global ultracapacitor demand is set to rocket in the coming years and we are perfectly positioned to meet the increased needs of multiple sectors, from manufacturing to automotive, urban mobility to smart energy management. Thanks to the backing of new and existing investors, we are rapidly scaling up and we are very excited indeed to be entering the industrialization phase with mass production imminent.”

NAWA Technologies’ Ultra Fast Carbon Batteries are the next-generation of the ultracapacitor, featuring vertically-aligned carbon nanotube electrodes. Combined with a pioneering unique coating they can offer three-to-five times more energy than existing ultracapacitors or up to five times more power, depending on application. Setting new standards for charging speed, frequency and environmental friendliness, NAWA Technologies’ Ultra Fast Carbon Battery bridges the gap between existing ultracapacitors and more traditional lithium-ion batteries.

Capable of being charged and discharged within seconds over a million cycles without any loss in performance, the batteries are also environmentally friendly to produce and have exceptional second life usage, because they are based on carbon – a naturally-occurring, accessible and abundant material. NAWA Technologies’ new Ultra Fast Carbon Batteries have multiple uses, from the power tool and manufacturing sectors, to automotive and commercial vehicle markets, within the IoT and sensor sectors as well as playing a key role in managing energy flow in a smart grid, to aerospace and even space.

NAWA Technologies’ COO Pascal Boulanger spent 20 years at the CEA (French Atomic and Alternative Energies Organisation). In 2008, he joined one of the first R&D teams in Europe working on new nanocarbon structures: carbon nanotubes and graphene. Within two years the team of researchers had shown that nanomaterials could be produced on a large scale and at a competitive cost. And in 2013 NAWA Technologies was born, spun off from the CEA and based in the south of France. Ulrik Grape joined as CEO in 2017, bringing over 20 years of executive management experience in lithium-ion battery industry start-ups in both Europe and the US.

About Kouros

Actor in the fight against global warming, the Kouros Group works on the decarbonisation of heavy transport and of electricity generation. Through its Scale-Up program, Kouros supports start-ups and SMEs of the energy sector in their industrialisation. A strategic dialogue between company directors and Kouros experts defines the most appropriate form to launch or accelerate the development of innovative energy enterprises through venture capital, industrial and/or commercial partnership agreements.

InnoEnergy is the innovation engine for sustainable energy across Europe. It supports and invests in innovation at every stage of the journey – from classroom to end-customer. With its network of partners it builds connections across Europe, bringing together inventors and industry, graduates and employers, researchers and entrepreneurs, businesses and markets. InnoEnergy was established in 2010 and is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).